Stone Age
2 recorded milestones at this point in the record.
Hearths at Wonderwerk and Gesher Benot Ya'aqov show deliberately maintained fire.
Why it mattered
Cooking unlocked calories, extended the day, warmed the north and centred social life on the hearth.
Genetic evidence indicates that the lineage leading to Neanderthals and Denisovans separated from the lineage leading to Homo sapiens around this time.
Why it mattered
Marks the divergence of the human groups that would later meet and interbreed.
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Levant
Africa and Europe
Southern Africa
Spain
Central Europe
Europe and western Asia